Concetrator.



R. B. PATE & F. B. ROSE.

GONGENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED mum, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented Mar. 12, 1912' a a, 1 a

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I Atto rneys.

R. B; PATE & F. B. ROSE.

GONOENTBATOR.

APPLICATION TILED rmm; 1011.

Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NNH MUM-U hu u lnven Attorneys.

R. FATE & F. B. ROSE.

OONCENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2, 1911.

Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

a SHEETSSHEBT 3'.

M M W 0 m i d ROBFIR'I B. FATE, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, AND FRANK B. ROSE, OF ONEIDA, NEW YORK.

CONCENTRATOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT B. PATE and FRANK B. Rosa, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Oakland and Oneida, in the counties of Alameda and Madison, States of California and New York, have invented a new and useful Concentrator, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to concentrators, and particularly to one of that class adapted for handling gold bearing earth in a dry state, such as is found upon the plains of Arizona, and where water is not obtainable for the purpose of washing the tailings from the auriferous dirt.

The object of the invention is in a ready, practical, economical and rapid manner to separate flour gold and nuggets from earth, gravel and any trash containing them, to conserve the former, and discharge the latter, the operation being continuous and requiring but small power, and thus a minimum expense in carrying out the procedure.

WVith the above and other objects in view, as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction and combination of parts of a concentrator, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts :-Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, of a concentrator constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3 is a view in elevation, partly in section, viewed from the discharge end of the machine. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view, viewed from the feed end of the machine.

As more clearly seen in Fig. 1, the machine comprises a drum embodying two funnel-shaped heads 1 and 2, the mouths of which are opposed, and each of which is provided with a neck 3 and lrespectively, the former constituting the feed inlet, and the latter the discharge outlet. These heads are preferably made of heavy steel, and may be constructed in one piece, or of a series of sections properly assembled.

Arranged within the drum is a series of truncated cone-shaped foraminous screens 5, 6, 7 and 8, the openings in which, are by Patented Mar. 12,1912.

Serial No. 606,194.

preference on the following scale, that is to say those of the screen 5 will be 3- of an inch in diameter, those of the screen 6, 2: of an inch, those of the screen 7 of an inch, and those of the screen 8, of an inch. The proportions between the openings in the series of screens above stated, have been found to secure the most satisfactory results, but it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to these precise measurements, as in handling different kinds of clay or dirt it may be necessary to vary the proportions between the openings of the different screens. These screens are made of heavy sheet steel, preferably about of an inch in thickness in order to enable them to withstand the rough usage to which they will be necessarily subjected in use, and each screen may be made as a single structure, or be constructed from plates riveted or otherwise secured together.

The inner screen is secured to two spiders 9 and 10, the arms of each of which are provided at their outer ends with outturned extensions 11 and 12, the former being riveted or otherwise secured to the screen 5, and the latter to the interior of the neck 4: of the drum. Each of the spiders is provided with a hub 13 and 14: respectively, and these are rigidly secured to a shaft 15, the outer end of which is journaled in a bearing 16 secured to the under side of a cross beam 17 that is connected with the upper ends of standards 18, the lower ends of which are stepped into a base beam 19, this arrangement of beams being duplicated, substantially, at the other end of the machine, and the two sets of vertical beams 18 being held spaced apart by beams 20 which are firmly clamped into position by tie rods 21, the beams 18 being held seated against the beams 17 and 19 by tie rods 22. This construction of frame has been found thoroughly effective in operation, but it is to be understood that it may be differently arranged to meet different requirements that may arise, and still be within the scope of the invention. The shaft 15 supports the drum at its discharge end, its inner end being supported by the neck 3 which bears upon anti-friction rollers 23 journaled in suitable bearings upon a cross beam 24. This arrangement will permit of free passage through the drum 5 of the coarser material, the arms of the spiders being of a size not to interfere with the operations Aswill be seen by reference to Fig. 1, all of the screens flare toward the discharge outlet, and are held assembled with the heads by flanged annuli 25 which are bolted or otherwise secured to the heads, and to the screens.

At the discharge end of the machine, there is arranged between each pair of screens, a dished baffle 26, that flares toward the feed end of the drum, each being provided with a flange 27 by which it may be bolted or riveted to the head 2. Each battle is spaced from the adjacent screen a suflicient distance to permit of a passage between it and the edge of the baffle of the gold-bearing material, which will settle down into the crotch 28 formed between the sides of the bafiies and the wall of the head 2, the coarser particles passing out through openings 29 which are arranged circumferentially of the head 2 and lie within the plane of the flanges 27 of the battles, the openings being formed by cutting an incision and pressing the metal inward to provide fingers 30 which operate to agitate the coarser .material and force it to escape through the tailings chute 31, as shown in Fig. 1, this chute being supported at its outerend by bars 32 secured respectively to the chute and to the vertical beams 18.

The finer materials as they pass through the successive screens finally reach the screen 8, through which they escape to the screening chute 33 which, as shown in Fig. 2, is at its upper end commensurate in width with the space bet-ween the two annuli 25, the lower portion being slightly constricted. Connected with the lower end of the screening chute is a suction box 34; in which is arranged a fine mesh screen 35 and above the same a shaker screen 36. The suction box has an inclined bottom 37 which in conjunction with the wall 38 of the box forms a discharge mouth 39 through which the gold is discharged into a suitable receptacle. The upper wall of the suction box is coneshaped and has connected with it one end of a pipe 40, the other end of which opens into a trap 41 having depending from its top a baffle 12. Connected with the trap on the side opposite that entered by the pipe 40 is a pipe 43 that connects with a casing of an exhaust fan 4:4:-

In the operation of the device, the auriferous material, including sticks, gravels, and other trash, is fed by any suitable means into the inlet 3, and passes to the screen 5 where the larger pebbles and trash are sepa rated from the finer, and pass out through the discharge end 4 to the tailings chute 31, and onto a conveyer belt 15, driven from any suitable source of power, and which will transfer the separated materials to a place where they may be further treated to recover any small amount of gold that may have been carried over. As the drum is rotated rapidly, the dirt and smaller stones and gold are successively projected through the successive screens, the tailings being discharged down the chute 31, and the auriferous earth being collected in the pockets or crotches 28 between the bottoms of the battles and the inner wall of the head 3, and when the final separation takes place, the flour gold and very small nuggets pass through the screen 8 and fall into a screening pan 46 with which the screening chute connects. The coarser gold in the form of nuggets settles in the bottom of the screen 8 whence it escapes to the screening chute.

. Any suitable means may be employed for driving the drum, that herein shown consisting of an annular sheave 47 which is driven from any practical source of power not necessary to be shown.

It will be seen from the foregoing description, that although the improvements herein set forth are simple in character, that they will be thoroughly efficient for the purposes designed, and will cooperate in a rapid and efficient separation of gold from the earth that contains it.

lVhat is claimed as new is 1. A concentrator comprising a rotatable.

drum embodying a pair of. funnel-shaped heads the mouths of which are opposed, a plurality of nested foraminous screens connecting the heads, dish-shaped baffles arranged at the discharge end of the drum and operating to prevent the escape of gold but to permit and accelerate the discharge of the tailings, and inward projecting fingers carried by the head at the discharge end of the drum to agitate the material and prevent clogging.

2. A concentrator comprising a rotatable drum embodying a pair of funnel-shaped heads the mouths of which are opposed, and each of which terminates at its smaller end in a neck, one of which constitutes a feed inlet and the other a discharge outlet, a plurality of nested foraminous screens connecting the heads, the openings in the inner screen being the largest, and those in the succeeding screens being gradually decreased in diameter, dish-shaped baflies arranged at the discharge end of the drum and operating to prevent the escape of the gold, but to permit and accelerate the discharge of the tailings, and means to agitate the materials at the discharge end to prevent clogging.

3. A concentrator comprising a rotatable drum embodying a pair of funnel-shaped heads the mouths of which are opposed, and each of which terminates at its smaller end in a neck, one of which constitutes a feed inlet and the other a discharge outlet, a plurality of nested foraminous screens connecting the heads, the openings in the inner screen being the largest, and those in the succeeding screens being gradually decreased in diameter, dish-shaped bafiles arranged at the discharge end of the drum and operating to prevent the escape of the gold, but to permit and accelerate the discharge of the tailings, a screening chute communicating 10 with the drum, and means to exert a suction upon the chute whereby to conserve the fine or flour gold that might otherwise escape.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, We have hereto afiixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses. ROBERT B. PATE. FRANK B. ROSE. Witnesses:

GEORGE OARRINGTON, HENRY WUPPERMAN.

dopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

